Escalating marine heatwave events in southeastern Australian waters pose a significant threat to ecosystem community dynamics and productivity in the region. Physiologically, rising sea temperatures can impact fish growth, size, fecundity, and maturation affecting changes in abundance, range, and condition.
These changes are already apparent in the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF) which spans Commonwealth waters from southern Queensland to Western Australia. As environmental dynamics reshape food webs and productivity in the SESSF, many fish stocks have declined in production, while previously minor and untargeted species are now emerging as potentially prominent fishery stocks.
By utilising almost four decades of Commonwealth catch data, we explore the change in species composition in southeastern Australian waters using a metier approach, a cluster analysis commonly used in multi-species fisheries, to identify emerging species. Identifying emerging species population dynamics is key to ensuring that these species will be sustainably fished as they transition from emerging to target species and that management is proactive and responsive to the fishery under changing conditions.